DataAnnotation, the AI training site many people call Data Annotation Tech, lets you take its entry test only once. If that went badly, you heard nothing back or you simply want more hours, look for sites like DataAnnotation that work the same way: apply, pass a skills check, then take paid tasks from home, such as rating chatbot answers, labeling data or transcribing speech. If you already have annotation or transcription skills, start with Zilo AI. Among task sites, the closest matches in 2026 are Outlier, run by Scale AI, Alignerr, run by Labelbox, and TELUS Digital AI, home of the former Lionbridge AI.
Below are 12 places to find remote data annotation jobs, with the pay and entry rules each one published in September 2026. First, our pick for people who would rather work with an annotation company than a task queue.
Why people look for sites like DataAnnotation
DataAnnotation pays contractors to review chatbot answers, rank responses, check facts and label data. As of September 2026 it lists generalist roles at $25 to $50 an hour, language specialists at $25 to $40 and software engineers at $75 to $150 or more, paid through PayPal.
Getting in is the hard part. You qualify through a Starter Assessment with no retakes, and its FAQ says that if you hear nothing afterwards, your application is still under review or was not accepted. So don’t wait on one platform: apply to two or three of the sites below at once.
Sites like DataAnnotation at a glance
| # | Platform | Main work | Published pay (September 2026) | How you get in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zilo AI | Annotation and transcription | Not published | Contact Zilo |
| 2 | Outlier | Prompt writing, rating AI answers | Not published, paid weekly | ID, resume, skill screening |
| 3 | Alignerr | Coding, STEM, language and audio tasks | $80 an hour on average | Resume, sometimes a test or AI interview |
| 4 | Mercor | Expert projects for professionals | $112 an hour on average | Profile and AI assessments |
| 5 | TELUS Digital AI | Search and AI evaluation, translation | Some listings at $25 to $45 an hour | Apply to a listing and qualify |
| 6 | CrowdGen by Appen | Evaluating and annotating data | Top rate of $100+ an hour | Verification, then project tests |
| 7 | OneForma | Annotation, transcription, translation | Rate shown before you accept | Five-minute profile |
| 8 | Mindrift (formerly Toloka) | Rating AI answers, search relevance | Fixed reward shown per task | Start at once, tests for more |
| 9 | RWS TrainAI | Rating, data collection, annotation | Per task, shared in advance | No experience needed, 18+ |
| 10 | Remoter.me | Image and video annotation | Per task, $50 minimum withdrawal | ID check and training |
| 11 | Clickworker | Microtasks, surveys, voice recordings | Per task, paid weekly | Register online |
| 12 | Prolific | Research studies, including AI evaluation | At least $8 an hour | Waitlist, then verification |
1. Zilo AI
Zilo is a Bangalore annotation company that does this work for clients, rather than a sign-up-and-start task site: text annotation, image annotation and voice annotation, plus audio, video and multilingual transcription. Zilo says it has a team of more than 1,600 trained annotation and speech recognition experts, and that they have annotated over 10 million data points. It also hires IT and data talent for companies, from cybersecurity analysts to data scientists.
There is no open task queue or posted rate. If you have annotation, transcription or language skills, contact Zilo and ask about annotation work.
Best for: annotators, transcribers and multilingual people who would rather talk to a company directly. See Zilo’s services.
2. Outlier
Outlier is the contributor platform operated by Scale AI. The work is human feedback for language models: writing hard prompts, building grading rubrics, and rating and ranking answers. Rates are not on its homepage, but Outlier says pay includes quality-based rewards and arrives weekly, with no minimum hours.
The bar is higher than DataAnnotation’s generalist track. Outlier typically expects undergraduate-level expertise, plus a valid ID and mobile phone from your country of residence, a resume and a LinkedIn profile. Onboarding typically takes 30 to 90 minutes.
Best for: graduates and postgraduates who want to use their subject knowledge.
3. Alignerr
Alignerr is Labelbox’s platform for paying experts to train AI, with roles in coding, STEM, audio and languages such as Bengali, Tagalog and Indonesian. In September 2026 its homepage showed average pay of $80 an hour, with roles from $25 to $30 an hour up to $40 to $120. Each project lists its rate before you start.
To apply, sign in with Google and upload your resume. Some roles add a skills test or an interview with Zara, Alignerr’s AI interviewer. You work as an independent contractor, with no minimum hours.
Best for: coders, scientists and native speakers of the languages it is hiring for.
4. Mercor
Mercor, a San Francisco company founded in 2023, pays professionals to work on AI projects. Its experts page showed an average contracted rate of $112 an hour in September 2026, with roles for lawyers, physicians, financial analysts and engineers. You build a profile, take AI assessments and receive offers that match your qualifications, with pay sent weekly.
Best for: experienced professionals who want AI work priced for their expertise.
5. TELUS Digital AI
TELUS Digital AI is the new name for TELUS International AI. TELUS International agreed to buy Lionbridge AI in 2020, so if an older list sent you looking for Lionbridge AI jobs, this is where they went. It describes a global community of more than one million people.
Its listings range from search evaluation and AI evaluation to translation. In September 2026 its homepage showed some part-time English roles at $25 to $45 an hour, while others, such as a Hindi Personalized Internet Assessor role in India, showed no rate.
Best for: search evaluators, translators and subject experts.
6. CrowdGen by Appen
CrowdGen is the contributor platform of Appen, a data company founded in 1996 and listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. It matches you to projects in your field, where you evaluate, annotate, generate or refine data.
Its homepage lists a top rate of $100+ an hour, depending on your location and skills, and most projects have a qualification process. Most earnings are stated in US dollars and paid in your local currency by bank transfer, PayPal, Payoneer or Airtm.
Best for: subject experts and linguists who want flexible payout options.
7. OneForma
OneForma, a Centific company, sorts its projects into five types: annotation, data collection, judging, transcription and translation. You see the rate before you accept, pay arrives twice a month with no fees or minimum threshold, and it supports contributors in more than 100 countries.
Signing up needs no resume and takes about five minutes. Some listings are language-specific, such as reviewing audio transcriptions for native speakers across 31 locales.
Best for: bilingual people, and anyone who prefers transcription or translation to rating chatbots.
8. Mindrift (formerly Toloka)
Toloka’s old page for taskers now redirects to Mindrift, which says Toloka accounts, balances and history moved across automatically. If an older list recommended Toloka, start here.
You can begin on all-access tasks straight away, then pass qualifications for better-paid specialized projects. The work includes rating AI answers, categorizing content and judging search relevance. Each task shows its reward before you start, joining is free, and payouts go out twice a month through Payoneer or Tipalti, which handles PayPal.
Best for: beginners who want to start earning without waiting for approval.
9. RWS TrainAI
TrainAI is the AI data community of RWS, the localization and language technology company. No experience is needed and the minimum age is 18. Roles include online rater, data collector, data annotator, search engine evaluator and ad evaluator, and extra training and tests open up more projects.
Pay is per task, with the amount shared in advance, by PayPal or bank transfer. You need a Windows or Mac computer, high-speed internet and Chrome.
Best for: complete beginners who want training built in.
10. Remoter.me
Remoter.me is run by Label Your Data, a data annotation company, and focuses on visual data: drawing bounding boxes, outlining objects with polygons and tracking them through video. No experience is needed. You verify your identity, complete compulsory training and move up to harder, better-paid tasks as your level rises.
It advertises a 100% payment guarantee in US dollars, with a $50 minimum withdrawal to your bank account. For more visual work, see our guide to image annotation jobs from home.
Best for: beginners who prefer careful visual work to writing.
11. Clickworker
Clickworker, a microtask marketplace running for more than 15 years and now owned by LXT, offers AI training tasks alongside surveys, voice recordings, text writing and app testing. Once a client approves your work you can be paid weekly through PayPal or Payoneer, and its phone apps alert you to new jobs.
These are small tasks, so treat Clickworker as a top-up while you wait on the bigger platforms.
Best for: spare minutes on your phone.
12. Prolific
Prolific, co-founded at Oxford University in 2014, pays you to take part in research studies, including ones that evaluate AI models. Its participant help centre says researchers must pay at least $8 an hour and recommends $12, and you can cash out to PayPal from $6.
Expect a queue: you join a waitlist, wait for an invite, then spend about 15 minutes verifying your identity and completing a practice task.
Best for: short, varied studies with a set minimum hourly rate.
Is Amazon Mechanical Turk still an option?
No. Older lists, including an earlier version of this one, recommended it, but Amazon is closing Mechanical Turk permanently on September 30, 2026, along with SageMaker Ground Truth and Amazon Augmented AI. Its tasks typically paid a few cents each, CNBC reported.
If you still have MTurk earnings, check that a payment method and transfer schedule are set in your Worker account. Amazon says completed, approved work will be paid on your normal schedule.
Best platforms for data annotation jobs, by background
- Annotation or transcription work with a company: Zilo AI.
- No experience: RWS TrainAI, Remoter.me or Mindrift. DataAnnotation’s generalist track also asks for no degree, only strong reading and clear written English.
- A degree or professional expertise: Mercor, Alignerr and CrowdGen publish the highest rates on this list, and Outlier looks for undergraduate-level expertise.
- A second language: OneForma, TELUS Digital AI and Alignerr’s language roles.
- Audio work: OneForma and RWS TrainAI both run transcription or speech data projects, and our guide to remote transcription jobs covers dedicated transcription firms.
- Something other than annotation: see our list of online moderation jobs.
How to get accepted and avoid fake data annotation jobs
- Apply to several platforms at once. Outlier says project lengths depend on its customers’ needs, and Alignerr says assignments depend on demand and your skills.
- Treat the first test like an exam. DataAnnotation gives you one attempt and reviews for thoroughness and accuracy, not speed.
- Never pay to join. RWS says it will never ask you for payment of any kind, and Mindrift says joining is always free. A sign-up fee or a starter kit to buy is a red flag.
- Check where messages come from. RWS says official TrainAI emails only come from rws.com or moravia.com. Hold every recruiter who contacts you to the same test.
- Keep ID checks inside the platform. Outlier, Alignerr, Remoter.me and Prolific all verify identity as part of joining. A stranger asking for your ID or bank details by email or chat is a warning sign.
Frequently asked questions
Are there other sites like DataAnnotation?
Yes. Start with Zilo AI if you would rather ask an annotation company directly, then try Outlier, Alignerr, TELUS Digital AI, CrowdGen by Appen and OneForma, which all pay remote contributors for AI training and data work.
Which data annotation sites pay the most?
Of the platforms on this list that publish an average, Mercor is highest at $112 an hour, ahead of Alignerr at $80, as of September 2026. DataAnnotation lists coding roles at $75 to $150 or more, and generalist roles at $25 to $50.
Which data annotation platforms have the most consistent work?
Outlier and Alignerr both say work depends on client demand, and neither promises set hours. The most reliable way to fill a week is to qualify on two or three platforms at once.
What are the best data annotation jobs for beginners?
RWS TrainAI and Remoter.me both say no experience is needed, and Mindrift lets you start on all-access tasks right away. DataAnnotation’s generalist track also asks for no degree.
Is Remoter.me legit?
It is run by Label Your Data, a data annotation company. Remoter.me verifies your identity, pays in US dollars to your bank account once you reach $50, and advertises a 100% payment guarantee.